Appreciation
by The Warrior Of Twilight
Summary: A one-shot in celebration of the fantastic Colin Baker's Birthday and his wonderful performance of an underrated incarnation.


It was just an ordinary day.

How's that for a beginning? 'Just an ordinary day'. How ordinary. But really that was the best description I could give to the dullness of this day, until the most fantastic, wonderful yet almost irritable thing ever happened to me.

A sound both familiar and unfamiliar alerted me to swivel around on my chair, as a full blue wooden police box materialized out of thin air right in the middle of my room, blocking me from the only exit out, but that was irrelevant.

Because the TARDIS, the literal _TARDIS_ , was right in front of me!

I couldn't move, confined to my chair from my own paralyzed body at the sight before me. And I think I stopped breathing for a moment, as what was obviously the ship of one of the msot greatest fictional characters tin all of existence was _right in front of me in the middle of my bedroom._

Did things get better? Oh definitely.

Because the front doors into the time machine opened right in front of me, and out stepped a man with his coat of many colours.

Oh it got even more better.

The Sixth Doctor stood right before me, and right then I couldn't have cared less by the judging expression on his expectant features. Normally many would be displeased or flat-out disgusted if this incarnation of the Time Lord appeared before their eyes instead of oh say Mr I-rub-my-hands-like-a-five-year-old-and-I-think-bow-ties-are-cool.

Me? I couldn't be more happier, same if it was the twelfth, tenth or third Doctors too.

As the man closed the doors behind him - drat! I forgot to peek around him at the evident white interior of his ship - he raised a brow at the human before him. "Yes, impressive am I not young man?"

Very...

"Hm? Speechless have I made you? Speak my friend, it's rude to gawk for so long."

The commanding tone had finally returned me to my sense. I swallowed as much shock as I could - and you can imagine how impossible that was right now - while still staring up at the Time Lord, trying to form a coherent response. "Um... uhh..."

This only seemed to humour him, as he smiled rather patronizingly. "Very well then, how about we try this; as a starting point, why you don't you tell me where we are and the date?"

Finally and I mean finally, I was able to form a sufficient reply, despite my tone vibrating shock and awe and I just couldn't contain. "It's... you're in my bedroom... and the date is the eighth of June,,, the year two-thousand and fifteen."

"There. Now that wasn't so hard was it?"

"Well pardon me, I wasn't expecting a Time Lord to appear within my room." I retorted at the tone as though I was being treated like a child... before covering my mouth from spewing out stuff I wasn't suppose to know.

"You're aware I'm a Time Lord...?" This time his arrogant features shifted to that of suspicion, and the frown made me wish I could sink further into my comfortable chair. The Doctor then directed his attention to the window, showing a clear blue sky and my neighbour's house. "What planet am I on?"

"E-Earth..."

"Hm, what was that? Earth you say?" His frown deepened, though this time looking more confounded than suspicious. "That can't be right. According to the TARDIS this isn't... hold on."

I blinked rapidly as the self-righteous Time Lord swiftly retreated into his ship, finally feeling my legs again so I could slowly stand up.

This... this couldn't be real.

He stepped out again, and I had to move out of the way as he approached the room's only window, speaking in a thoughtful mellowed - surprisingly - tone. "Interesting..."

"..." I lost the ability to speak again, as I just stared at the taller man who was obviously in no need of distractions.

Then the Doctor clasped his hands together and turned to me with a wide smile. "It seems, my young friend, my TARDIS has somehow landed within an alternate dimension. Yours to be more precise. Not to worry, I shall rectify this posthaste; travelling through different universes is not something even a Time Lord should so, after all."

".. Indeed."

His smiled widened. "Nervous I see. And you knew what I was in the first place. I speculate I am quite popular in this dimension then."

"More than you can believe." I forced myself to say. God dammit, this nervousness had to go!

Of course the ego this incarnation was best known for having evidently inflated. "Even in a parallel world I am a sight to behold. Well, I can't dwindle, there is work to be done and my own universe to save."

He was about to leave...

...Say something!

"Doctor!" I called out while the man was already halfway through the opened blue door to his TARDIS, looking at me in surprise when I called out his name. What to say, what to say... "I... appreciate you."

A perplexed blink. "I beg your pardon, my friend?"

"Your incarnation, right now, I appreciate you." I took a deep breath before continuing. If this was my only chance, then I will not miss the opportunity. "At first, when you appeared after celery man, you were majorly disliked; your attitude, your taste in fashion, your solutions of defeating threats to the universe."

The Doctor simply stared at me, and I supposed that was a good time to continue. "But that was because you weren't given enough time, time to show everyone just how great a Doctor you can be. Now, you're an incarnation loved by many, because the stories we hear about you are utterly fantastic."

"You are one of my Doctors. And I would love to be you. So, Doctor, I just wanted you to know that I appreciate this version of you, and wish for the best despite the criticism towards you."

The Time Lord stared for a long moment, before finally releasing a rather almost choked tone. "I believe that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me. Not even Peri said such things after I regenerated... what did you say your name was, young man?"

I shrugged. "I'm just one of many people who appreciate your existence."

"I see." The Doctor then cleared his throat, returning to that posture we all knew and loved. "Well then, thank you again, young man. It's nice to know someone out there appreciates what I do for you lot. But I'm afraid I can't stick around any longer, otherwise my presence here might just rip the whole of reality apart, and not just by my magnificence. Farewell my friend... and thank you again."

Of course. I stood there smiling like an idiot, still shocked over the whole thing as one of the most brilliant and unappreciated Doctors arrived in my room for just about five minutes. This might have considerably been the best day of my entire life.

And it was only three days before my Birthday.


End file.
